Automatic safety flatiron holder



Jan. 25, 1949. M. B TOMEY 2,460,044

AUTOMATIC SAFETY FLATIRON HOLDER Filed Dec. 12, 1946 Patented Jan. 25, 1949 UNITED TATE S PATENT 0F ICE AUTOMATIC SAFETY FLATIRONHOLDER nteiaaar e; *i'diiiey, South Noitmili, 12, 1946;- Serial No. irsg'ivs koldfifi. (o1. 24s "1n;2) I

invention relates to aholder for fletirons, a id. to? qloi et'iqp o de a sa ety fi ti o holder which will hold the hot iron when not in use against cistrigerof its being pushedor knocked off or dropped to the floor; or dropped one users foot and so forth; ,7

Another ohjectis to provide a holder for fiat-' irons in whioh-theironwhen on the holder is positively gripped by a ho1ding-mea-ns, so that there is nq g1an ger ofthe iron beingshaken or knocked ofi the holder. 7 Another object-is to provide a construction in which the operation-of placingthe fia-tiron on the holder shifts the-holding means to the holding position, in which-positionthey are held by the eight of the iron 'so'long h s" the ironis on the ho1der,qb ut will automatically release the iron when it is lifted "from the holder.

v A'iurtherobject is to provide a; device of this character whioh is of "simple construction endearibe manufactured at low cost, and may be readily clamped on t-heedge or 'an ironing board, ta'lbl'e' or other similar 'devi'ce for most convenient use".

' With the foregoing and other objects in view,- I have devisedthe construction illustrated in the acoompanying'drawing f-oifnin'g pert of this Law specification. It is; nowevend-beundrstbod the invention is not limited to the speCi construction and a rre n'getnent 'show ut'niay embody various changes nd modifications Wit-hin" the scope of the invention.

In this drawing: 7

Fig: 1' is a" toiy pl an view of the devi'o Wi'thth flatiron' rmov'ed'and with "ortionhiokn twly to more clearly show the struotion i Fig. 21's side View thereof dotted lines'an' iron on the homer-meme Idm means engaging this i'ronto hold it' on the harder};

Fig. 3' is a) side view on fduod scale of the plunger operated E3 the to operiitethe holding inea'n's'jelnd taiils of platform l1; s'o thatthe upper e 2 I! is positioned or located to thera'r of this plat form. The levers [6' are each pivoted to one of the supports 1'3 at a; suitable intermediate point it; andat their upperendsoarry e; grip '[9fpref erably curved so as to incite or less fit the curved surface of the iron 1'2; end oven'i'e and g'ri p'th'i s' surf-ace when in 'theholding position. The-outer upright arm 20 of these levrsisoutside the ease of the'pi'atform H; end joins 'vvith lower 5511b: sta-nt'ially' horizontal "arm 21' 'on-the other side of the pivot L8 and ezi'tendirfg into inverted v-' shaped notchfiiin eplungeiisz This plun e; is an inverted cup' sh pen In'eml5e'r with u -par closed end 24' l'oclted' i'n' nine" 25 in the er, when the iron is rihov dfi iii the Home}; project's above the meter "su'r gee ofth' p itfor'irr H, as shown in full lin n'Fig. 2'; The uptvtrd movement of this pm may te iifiiit b5 any suitable stop b in the" firesfeiit cese' ibis filOVldd with an 'iitriia'i h'dfi 2'6 ecur don the outer surface of the plunger and s'pttck'eolthe proper distance blotv' not closed end so as to engage theundif o'fith'e enticem- H, as shown in full tfe Fi-g;2 Mounted on th'beise Ill" und'r' 'lunger ahd-te sgopa in it is a cupped l'fiemloer 21.- This has" i fl'an'ge 28 at its lower end lo y which it be mounted on the pag H! teeny suitable means,

- in its si'd walls has ngdot/nvvarmy frond g fortlie plunger. Theirefgr henjin place the invvardl'y extending arm sffl levers it extend into both lnot ches 22 if plunger and the notches 39 in this guide rninber 2:7.

e reerleve'r u is similarly cdristfimted; but has longer arms. It is 'pivote'dtothe fear upright support l3 at 3i its is rear- Wardly of the rear edge otth'eplitform ll-,- and has adjacent its upper end a grip 33 preferably curved so that when in the gripping osition, asv

shown in dottedhnes'jfig. 2 it effectively substantially fits and grips the Curved upper Wall of the iron, as shown iridotted l'ines 'The other arm 34 of the levei' extends and seats in a pair of the lign'd'notches 22 and 30 ofthe plunger 23 in the guide 21. The plunger 23 is therefore supported on the iirifiverdly extending arms 2| and}?! of the thiee levers, the top of the notches 22resting on the tops of these arms. Therefore, when theiron I 2 ijs pla.ced on the pletform I l it is placed on the top of the "plunger 23,

4 and the Weight of the i ron will force this plunger dovvhvvardly 'attat 'th'eii gsivbts I8 and 3 l', and will a 3 swing their upright arms with their grips I9 and 33 inwardly over the top of the iron, so that these grips overlie and grip the upper surface of the iron, and eifectively and securely hold it in the position on the platform H against any danger of being pushed or knocked ofi by hitting the iron laterally, or of its being shaken off. There is therefore no danger of the iron being shaken or knocked off so as to drop to the floor orv onto and injure what is on the ironing board, to set anything afire or do any damage. However, when the operator wishes to use the iron for ironing purposes, all that is necessary is to lift it upwardly from the platform I i. This automatically removes the pressure and weight of the iron from the upper end of the plunger 23, and as the heavier portion of the levers i6 and I? are outwardly of their pivots i8 and Si, they will auto matically swing outwardly to their full line positions, thus removing their grips l9 and'33 from the iron and releasing the iron for use. But as soon as the iron is again placed back on the platform, its weight will again depress the plunger 23 and againswing these arms inwardly to their dotted line position to grip and hold the iron on the platform. Therefore, it can be seen the operator does not need to pay any attention to operating the gripping means, but they are automatically swung to the gripping or holding position by the simple act of placing the iron on the holder, and

they are automatically released or swung to the iron releasing position by the simple act of raising the iron from the holder. However, in spite of this automatic rippin and release, the iron when on the holder is eifectively and securely held against being shaken off, or pushed or knocked offlaterally. V v

This holder may be supported by resting on top of the ironing board or a table or the like, by setting the base ii! on it, but means is also provided for clamping it to the edge of the ironing board,

' table or other support. For this purpose a clamp is provided comprising an upper laterally extending member secured to the platform II, and a lower similar member 36' secured to the base iii, and having in it a suitable clamp screw 37 pro-' vided with a winged head 38 and a clamping disc 39 on its upper end for clamping the edge of an ironing board between the extension 35 and this clamp 39 to hold the device in clamped position.

The rear lever l l' is preferably made in two sections, the inner extending arm 34 forming the greater part of one section and the upwardly extending arm Bathe other section. In one of them,

in this case the arm 32, is provided an elongated slot all with a screw 4i mounted in the other section and extending through this sloton this screw is a wing nut 42 whereb the two sections can be clamped together. By this arrangement.

after loosening the nut 42, the outer arm 32 may be adjusted outwardly or inwardly on the inner section and then clamped in adjusted positions to accommodate the device for different sizes of irons. With a longer or larger iron it would be adjusted backward to accommodate the increased size of iron.

There is also preferably provided on the base if! an auxiliary electrical plug-in'socket 43 provided with two or more sets of plug-in slots 44 to receive the parallel blades of an attachment plug cap usually provided on the outer end of the electrical conductor cord secured to the iron; A 0011- ductor cord 45 extends from this receptacle 43, and is provide'd'with'a similar attachment plug cap 45 to plug into the usual outlet in the house J 4 wiring system. After this is plugged into the house wiring outlet, the receptacle 43 makes a convenient outlet connection to the flatiron conductorcord and keeps thiscord more out of the way and free of the work in the ironing operation than is usual where the iron conductor cord is plugged directly into the outlet of the house wiring system. It also gives a greater range for use of the iron.

It will be clear from the above that this device makes a very effective holder for the iron when not in. use, that When the iron is in the holder it is so gripped and held that there is no danger of its beingjarred or shaken off the holder, or pushed off laterally or knocked off by a lateral blow on the iron. However, when the iron is merely placed on the holder, this action, through the weight of the iron, automatically shifts the holdin means to engage the iron and retain it in holding position. but the iron is automatically released by merely lifting it from the holder.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, I claim:

1. A flatiron holder of the character described comprising a support for the iron, a plurality of arms about the support including grips to engage over the iron to hold it on the support and movable away from the iron to release it, and means on and movable relative to the support operable by the weight of the iron to swing said grips to position them over the iron to hold it.

'2. A flatiron holder comprising a support for the iron, a plurality of. upright arms located about the support and including grips adapted to engage the iron to hold it on the support, means projecting above the support to be engaged by the iron when it is placed on the support to, depress saidmeans, and a connection fromsaid means to the arms to swing the grips to iron holding position when said projecting means is depressed by the iron. I

3. A flatiron support comprising a platform to receive the iron, supports for the platform, a plurality of levers pivoted to the supports, said levers each including an upright arm provided with a grip to engage the iron to hold it on the platform and a lower arm extending under the platform, and a vertically movable plunger so mounted in the platform as to project above it to be engaged by the iron when on the platform and resting on said lower arms to swing the grips inwardly to engage the iron when the plunger is clepressed'by the weight of the iron. 4. A flatiron-support comprising a platform to receive the iron, supports for the platform, a plurality of levers pivoted tothe supports, said levers each including anupright arm provided with a grip to engage the iron to hold it on the platform and a lower arm extending under the platform, a plunger comprising an inverted cupped member extending through an opening in the platform and normally projecting above it, the side walls of'the plunger being provided with notches into which the lower arms of the 5 platform, two of said levers being placed to grip the iron on opposite sides rearwardly of its pointed end, and a third being positioned at the rear end of the platform to engage over the rear straight end of the iron, said latter lever comprising two connected sections adjustable relatively to lengthen or shorten the lever for irons of different sizes, means for securing the sections in adjusted positions, and a plunger mounted in the platform to normally project at its upper end above the surface of the platform and connected with said inwardly extending arms of the levers to swing the grips to engage the iron when the plunger is depressed by the weight of the iron, as it is placed on the platform.

6. A fiatiron support comprising a base, a platform spaced above the base, upright supports between and connected to the base and the platform, an angularly shaped lever pivoted to each support and comprising an upright arm outwardly of the pivot and provided'with a grip at its upper end to lie over and engage the upper surface of an iron seated on the platform, each lever also comprising a second arm extending inwardly from its pivot under the platform, and an upright plunger extending through the platform with its upper end normally projecting above the platform, said plunger resting on the inwardly extending arms of the levers so that when the plunger is depressed by the weight of the iron placed on the platform it will swing the upright arms inwardly to place the grips over the iron.

7. A fiatiron support comprising a platform to receive the iron, a plurality of levers pivotally mounted under the platform and each including an upright arm provided with a grip to overlie and hold the iron and a second arm extending inwardly under the platform, a plunger projecting above the platform and-adapted to be depressed by the weight of the iron when placed on the platform, said plunger being connected with the inwardly extending arms to swing the grips inwardly by downward movement of the plunger, and a clamp'for securing the platform to the edge of an ironing board and the like.

8. A fiatiron holder including a platform adapted to hold the iron, a plurality of levers provided with holding means to retain the iron on the platform and movable to and from holding position, and means movable relative to the platform and operated by the weight of the iron when it is placed on the platform to swing said holding means to holding position. 7

MICHAEL B. TOME'Y.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Crum July 1, 1902 Number 

